Combination step-extension ladder with an adjustable pail shelf



Nov. 19, 1963 R. c. Mc 3,111,193

COMBINATION STEP-EXTENSION LADDER WITH AN ADJUSTABLE PAIL SHELF FiledAug. 23,1961

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OXTON INNIE F I62. Bl wcp ATTORNEYS \I III United States Patent Ofi icean es Patented Nov. 19, 1963 3,111,193 COMBHNATIGN STEP-EXTENSKUN LADDERWHTH AN ADJUSTABLE PAH. SHELF Roxton C. lvicKinnie, 2435 Walgrove Ave,Los Angeies 66, Calif. Filed Aug. 23, 196i, Ser. No. 133,352 3 Claims.(CL 132-22) This invention relates generally to ladders and moreparticularly to an improved combination step-extension ladder and pailshelf for both domestic and commercial applications.

Most conventional step ladders include a pail shelf which is pivotallymounted to the ladder in such a manner as to swing to an out of the wayposition when the ladder is folded and not in use. Because of theswingable attachment of the pail shelf, it is always at the same levelabove the floor, when the ladder is unfolded. Thus, in using the ladderto paint a large wall area, for example, the painter may place the paintcan on the pail shelf which is ordinarily close to the top of the ladderand commence his painting. However, after the upper portion of the wallhas been painted and the painter no longer needs to stand on the ladderor is standing at an intermediate position on the ladder, he must reachup to put his brush in the paint can if the paint can is still held onthe shelf. A point is reached when it is more practical for the painterto remove the can from the pail shelf and place it on the floor. In thisposition, however, the painter .then must reach down, or if he isstanding at an intermediate position on the ladder, actually climb downto wet his brush and there is thus much lost motion.

In instances wherein high ceilings are involved, the average step laddermay not enable a painter to climb a sufiicient height to paint. Regulartype ladders must then be employed, but generally these ladders do nothave any provision for a pail shelf. Thus, the painter again encountersthe problem of having to reach down or climb down a ladder before he canapply paint to his brush. Otherwise, he must hold the can with one handand paint with the other.

With the foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of this invention toprovide an improved combination step and extension ladder with anadjustable pail shelf which overcomes the foregoing problems.

More particularly, it is an object to provide a combination step andextension ladder which may be readily converted from a step ladderposition to an extension ladder position in the event high walls are tobe painted or in the event a high place must be reached.

Another important object is to provide a ladder of the foregoing typewhich includes an adjustable pail shelf, the level of which may bevaried in increments corresponding to the distance between the steps orrungs of the ladder when the ladder is either in a step ladder positionor extension ladder position. By this arrangement, a painter, forexample, may reposition his paint can by readjusting the level of thepail shelf so that the paint can will always be at a convenientlocation, depending upon the portion of the wall being painted.

Other important objects of this invention are to provide an improvedcombination step-extension ladder which is extremely rugged inconstruction, economical to manufacture, and which does not require anycomplicated rearrangement of its component parts in converting the stepladder into an extension ladder.

Briefly, these and many other objects and advantages of this inventionare attained by providing a pair of front and rear legs having steps orrungs disposed therebetween. The upper ends of the legs are positionedtogether and the lower ends spread apart to form an inverted V shape todefine a step ladder. The upper front edges of the rear legs are miteredto engage in full surface contact the upper rear edges of the front legswhen the front and rear legs are in their inverted V position so thatstable support is provided. Also included is at least one swingable loopstructure secured to one of the front legs adjacent its upper end in aposition to be swung over the end of the corresponding rear leg to holdthe mitered surface thereof in engagement with the rear edge of thefront leg and thus secure the front and rear legs in their inverted Vshape.

The front legs include suitable rung or step engaging means extendingtherefrom in a position to engage any one of the rungs or steps betweenthe rear legs when the loop structure is released and the rear legs arefolded against the front legs and slid upwardly, thereby providing anextension ladder. us, either a step or extension ladder may be provided.

In accordance with an important feature of the invention, there isprovided an adjustable pail shelf in the form of a rectangular memberhaving opposite sides notched to be received between the rear legs withthe member in a position to rest on top of one of the rungs or stepsthereof. This member may be tilted and removed from between the rearlegs and repositioned to rest on any one of the other rungs or stepstherebetween so that its level or height above the lower ends of thelegs may be adjusted.

A better understanding of the invention will be had by now referring tothe accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment thereof,wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the combination step and extensionladder of this invention in the position of a step ladder;

FlGURE 2 is a rear elevational view of the ladder shown in FIGURE 1looking generally in the direction of the arrow 2;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view partly broken away to illustratecertain component parts showing the ladder in its extension ladderposition;

FIGURE 4 is a plan View of the adjustable pail shelf employed with theladder of FIGURES 1-3; and,

FIGURE 5 is a side view of the pail shelf of FIGURE 4 taken in thedirection of the arrows 55'.

Referring first to FIGURE 1, the ladder comprises a pair of front legs19 and 11 and a pair of rear legs 12 and 13. As shown, the upper frontedges of the rear legs 12 and 3.3 are mitered as at 14 to engage in fullsurface contact the upper rear edges of the front legs it and 11 whenthe upper ends of the front and rear legs are positioned together asshown and t leir lower ends spread apart in the form of an inverted V todefine -a step ladder.

Steps 15 are secured between the front legs 16 and 11 as shown. Alsosecured to the front legs iii and 11 are brackets 16 and 17 pivotailysupporting holding loops l8 and 19 arranged to be swung over theadjacent upper ends of the rear legs 12 and 13 to hold the mitered edgesthereof in surface engagement with the upper rear edges of the frontlegs. in FIGURE 1, the holding loop 18 is shown in locked position tohold the mitered upper edge of the leg 12 against the rear upper edge ofthe front leg d1 while the holding loop 19 is shown in an up or releasedposition to illustrate the operation of the holding loops. While twosuch holding loops are shown, one such loop would be sufficient to holdthe ladder in its inverted 1' shape.

The front legs 1% and 11 also support guide flanges 2t? and 21 whichextends adjacent the outsides of the rear legs 12 and 13, respectively,and terminate in inturned ends engaging the rear edges of the rear legsas best seen in FIGURE 2. Rigid support for the guide flanges 2h and 21may be provided by anchor links 22 and 23 which connect :to intermediatepoints on the guide flanges and raised points on the front legs 1%} and11 beneath the top step 15 thereof. The guide flanges will cooperatewith the holding loops 18 and 19 to limit the angle of divergence of theinverted V form. The same guide flanges also function to help supportthe structure when converted into an extension ladder as will becomeclearer when FIGURE 3 is described.

As also best shown in FIGURE 2, there are provided projecting stops 24land 25 constituting the ends of a rod 26 passing beneath and supportingthe top step 15. These projections 24 and 25 rest against the upperedges of the guide flanges 29* and 21, respectively, and will preventthe rear legs .12 and 13 from sliding downwardly from the top ends ofthe front legs and 11 should the ladder be tilted to lift the rear legsfrom the ground.

The rear legs include a plurality of steps or rungs 27 disposedtherebetween as shown in FIGURE 1. The top rung, however, is in the formof a wide flat step 28 positioned to be co-planar with the top step 15between the front legs 16 and 11 when the front and rear legs are intheir inverted V position. With this arrangement, there is provided arelatively large flat surface at the top of the step ladder which mayserve as a roller paint pan holder or pail supporting surface.

To enable conversion of the front and rear legs from a step ladder intoan extension ladder, the front legs are provided with rung or stepengaging members 29 and 30' having upturned ends as shown most clearlyin FIGURE 2. These members extend rearwardly towards the rear legs 12-and 13.

When it is desired to convert the step ladder of FIG- URE 1 into anextension ladder, the holding loops 18 and 19 are first swung over theupper ends of the rear legs back into a reverse position over the upperends of the front legs. The rear legs 12 and 13 are then folded againstthe front legs \10 and 11, respectively, the stop means 24 and 25serving to prevent any downward sliding movement of the rear legs withrespect to the front legs. After this folding operation, the rear legsare then slid upwardly with respect to the front legs, there beingprovided sufficient space between the guide flanges 20 and 21 so thatthe upper movement of the rear legs can be effected without the rungs 27striking the underside of the rung engaging members 29 and 30 projectingfrom the front steps. When the rear legs have been slid upwardly to adesired height, the rung closest to the engaging members 29 and 30 maybe hooked into the members, respectively, as most celarly shown in thebroken-away portion of FIGURE 3. The guide flanges 20 and 21 willprevent the rear legs from falling away from the front legs prior to theengagement of the upper end thereof with a wall surface. The overallheight of the extension ladder structure may readily be varied by simplylifting slightly on the rear legs to unhook the rung 27 from the rungengaging members 29 and 36 and then lowering the same until the nextrung is in a position to be received in the rung engaging members.

In combination with the foregoing structure, there is provided anadjustable pail shelf in the form of a rectangular member 31 arranged tobe inserted between the rear legs 12 and 13 to rest on any one of therungs thereof as illustrated in FIGURE 1. As an example, there is shownin dotted lines .31 another position for the member 31.

With particular reference to FIGURE 4, it will be noted that theopposite sides 32. and 33 of the member 31 includes notches 34 and 35,respectively. These notches are of a width corresponding to the widthbetween the front and rear edegs of the rear legs 12 and 13,respectively. Further, as clearly illustrated in FIGURE 5, the opposingedges of the notches are sloped as at 36 and 37 so that they will engagein full surface contact the front and rear surfaces of the rear legswhen the rear legs are slanting as shown in FIGURE 1 so that the shelfwill be level.

The versatility of the adjustable pail shelf will be further evident byreferring to FIGURE 3 wherein the shelf 31 has been turned over andinserted to extend out the front of the rear legs 12 and 13 when theyare in an extension ladder position. Alternatively, the shelf could bereinverted to its original position and extend from the rear of the rearlegs as shown by the dotted lines 3 1 in FIG- URE 3. It is necessary toturn the member over when it is desired to have the same project fromthe opposite side of the rear legs so that the sloping opposing edges ofthe notches will be properly oriented to correspond with the slanting orsloping direction of the ladder legs to insure that the pail shelf willbe level.

In the operation of the combination step and extension ladder, a paintermay first Wish to start painting a high wall such as schematicallyillustrated in FIGURE 3 at the ceiling portion and work towards thefloor. In this event, the front and rear legs would be positioned asshown in FIGURE 3 to form an extension ladder. For convenience, the pailshelf 31 may be positioned as shown in solid lines in FIGURE 3 so thatthe painters paint pail or can will be readily available to him whilepainting the upper portions of the wall. As the painting progressesdownwardly, the painter may simply shift the position of the pail shelfby tilting the same and sliding it from between the rear legs and thenre-inserting it over the next lower rung with the rear legs received inthe respective notches. The shelf level may thus be changed by adistance corresponding to the distance between the rungs or stepsbetween the rear legs, any one particular step serving to support thebottom portion of the shelf.

As the painter works still lower, he will reach a point where it is moreconvenient to employ the ladder as a step ladder. In this event, thepail shelf 31 Will be removed and the rear legs then raised slightly tounhook the rung 27 shown in FIGURE 3, for example, so that the same maybe lowered between the guide flanges 29 and 21. The rear legs may thenbe swung outwardly until the mitered upper front edges thereof as shownat 14- properly engage the upper rear edges of the front legs. Thisposition is accurately maintained by the stop means 24 and 25 when theyengage the upper edges of guide flanges 29 and 21. The holding loops 18and 19 may then be swung over the upper ends of the rear legs asdescribed in conjunction with FIGURE 1 when the same are spread apart todefine the inverted V form.

Since the top steps of both the front and rear legs are co-planar in thestep ladder position as described in FIGURE 1, this wide surface areamay be employed as a pail shelf while painting intenmediate portions ofthe wall. As the painting progresses further downwardly, the painter maythen progressively re-adjust the pail shelf 31 between the rear legs toextend rearwardly as described in conjunction with FIGURE 11, moving thepail shelf downwardly to rest on the successive rungs 27.

From the foregoing description, it will thus be evident that the presentinvention has provided a greatly improved combination step and extensionladder and adjustable pail shelf. M-uch lost motion in applying paint toa brush is avoided by the construction as described.

While the particular application and function of the ladder of thisinvention has been described in conjunction with a painting operation,it will be evident that it may be used in many other ways. Further,while both steps and rungs have been shown, either may be interchangedor steps or rungs exclusively used between the various front and rearlegs with the exception of the top steps thereof in order to retain thefeature of a flat c0- planar top surface. The combination step andextension ladder and adjustable pail shelf is therefore not to bethought of as limited to the exact embodiment set forth merely forillustrative purposes.

In the appended claims, the word step is meant to include either a wideflat step or round rung or equivalent structure.

What is claimed is:

1. A combination step-extension ladder with an adjustable pail shelfcomprising: a pair of front legs having a plurality of stepstherebetween; a pair of rear legs having a plurality of rungstherebetween, said rear legs being of the same length as said front legsand having mitered upper front edges engaging in full surface contactthe upper rear edges of said front legs when said front and rear legshave their upper ends placed together and their lower ends spread apartto form an inverted V defining a step ladder, said rear legs having atop step co-planar with the top step of said front legs when in saidinverted V position; at least one holding loop pivoted to the upper sideof one of said pair of front legs and swingable over the upper end ofone of said pair of rear legs to hold the mitered front edge thereofagainst the upper rear edge of said one of said front legs; a pair ofguide flanges secured to said front legs between adjacent steps andextending rearwardly on the outer sides of said rear legs and thenceturning inwardly to bear against the rear edges of said rear legs; and apair of rung supporting members secured between said front legs beneathone of said steps and extending rearwardly to terminate in up-turnedends for engaging one of said rungs, whereby said holding loop may beswung back over the upper end of said one of said front legs and saidrear legs folded against said front legs and slid upwardly until one ofsaid rungs is received in said members to provide an extension ladder;and a pail shelf comprising a flat rectangular member having front andrear edges and opposite sides, said opposite sides having notch meanscloser to said rear edge than to said front edge for receiving said pairof rear legs, the top surface of said pail shelf forming an obtuse anglewith the portion of said legs extending above said shelf, whereby saidpail shelf may be moved to rest on different ones of said rungs to varyits height above the lower ends of said front and rear legs.

2. The combination of claim 1, including an elongated rod extendingbeneath and supporting said top step between said rear legs, said rodextending through said rear legs to project laterally from oppositesides of said rear legs in position engaging the upper side edges ofsaid guide flanges to provide stop means to hold in cooperation withsaid holding loop said front and rear legs in said inverted V form.

3. The combination of claim 2, including anchor links for said guideflanges secured between intermediate points thereon and raised points onthe sides of said front legs beneath the level of the top one of saidadjacent steps respectively to support said guide flanges.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,207,552 Hill Dec. 5, 1916 1,494,267 Melsha May 13, 1924 1,658,753Wirth Feb. 7, 1928 2,528,317 Newman Oct. 3 1950 2,896,830 Bair -1 July 28, 11-959 FOREIGN PATENTS 215,177 Australia Mar. 7, 1958

1. A COMBINATION STEP-EXTENSION LADDER WITH AN ADJUSTABLE PAIL SHELFCOMPRISING: A PAIR OF FRONT LEGS HAVING A PLURALITY OF STEPSTHEREBETWEEN; A PAIR OF REAR LEGS HAVING A PLURALITY OF RUNGSTHEREBETWEEN, SAID REAR LEGS BEING OF THE SAME LENGTH AS SAID FRONT LEGSAND HAVING MITERED UPPER FRONT EDGES ENGAGING IN FULL SURFACE CONTACTTHE UPPER REAR EDGES OF SAID FRONT LEGS WHEN SAID FRONT AND REAR LEGSHAVE THEIR UPPER ENDS PLACED TOGETHER AND THEIR LOWER ENDS SPREAD APARTTO FORM AN INVERTED V DEFINING A STEP LADDER, SAID REAR LEGS HAVING ATOP STEP CO-PLANAR WITH THE TOP STEP OF SAID FRONT LEGS WHEN IN SAIDINVERTED V POSITION; AT LEAST ONE HOLDING LOOP PIVOTED TO THE UPPER SIDEOF ONE OF SAID PAIR OF FRONT LEGS AND SWINGABLE OVER THE UPPER ENDS OFONE OF SAID PAIR OF REAR LEGS TO HOLD THE MITERED FRONT EDGE THEREOFAGAINST THE UPPER REAR EDGE OF SAID ONE OF SAID FRONT LEGS; A PAIR OFGUIDE FLANGES SECURED TO SAID FRONT LEGS BETWEEN ADJACENT STEPS ANDEXTENDING REARWARDLY ON THE OUTER SIDES OF SAID REAR LEGS AND THENCETURNING INWARDLY TO BEAR AGAINST THE REAR EDGES OF SAID REAR LEGS; AND APAIR OF RUNG SUPPORTING MEMBERS SECURED BETWEEN SAID FRONT LEGS BENEATHONE OF SAID STEPS AND EXTENDING REARWARDLY TO TERMINATE IN UP-TURNEDENDS FOR ENGAGING ONE OF SAID RUNGS, WHEREBY SAID HOLDING LOOP MAY BESWUNG BACK OVER THE UPPER ENDS OF SAID ONE OF SAID FRONT LEGS AND SAIDREAR LEGS FOLDED AGAINST SAID FRONT LEGS AND SLID UPWARDLY UNTIL ONE OFSAID RUNGS IS RECEIVED IN SAID MEMBERS TO PROVIDE AN EXTENSION LADDER;AND A PAIL SHELF COMPRISING A FLAT RECTANGULAR MEMBER HAVING FRONT ANDREAR EDGES AND OPPOSITE SIDES, SAID OPPOSITE SIDES HAVING NOTCH MEANSCLOSER TO SAID REAR EDGE THAN TO SAID FRONT EDGE FOR RECEIVING SAID PAIROF REAR LEGS, THE TOP SURFACE OF SAID PAIL SHELF FORMING AN OBTUSE ANGLEWITH THE PORTION OF SAID LEGS EXTENDING ABOVE SAID SHELF, WHEREBY SAIDPAIL SHELF MAY BE MOVED TO REST ON DIFFERENT ONES OF SAID RUNGS TO VARYIN HEIGHT ABOVE THE LOWER ENDS OF SAID FRONT AND REAR LEGS.